A completed example
This fictional example shows the level of detail to aim for. It is not a customer's work history.
Meeting minutes Meeting: Harbor Street library renovation - weekly project sync Date: Tuesday, 14 October Time: 10:00 to 10:45 Location: Room 2B and video call Chair: Dana Okafor Minute taker: Priya Sandoval Attendees: Dana Okafor, Priya Sandoval, Marcus Lindqvist, Hannah Brandt Absent: Tom Reyes (sent update by email) Agenda 1. Contractor schedule 2. Reading room furniture order 3. Opening event plan Discussion and decisions 1. Contractor schedule - Electrical work finished Friday. Flooring now starts 20 October, two days later than planned. - Decision: keep the 3 November soft opening date. 2. Reading room furniture order - Vendor quote came in above budget. Marcus compared two cheaper chair options. - Decision: order the second option, pending Hannah's budget check. 3. Opening event plan - Discussed a Saturday morning event with a children's reading hour. - No decision. Needs a volunteer count first. Action items - Marcus Lindqvist: confirm flooring start date with contractor, by Thursday 16 October - Hannah Brandt: check furniture budget and approve or flag, by Friday 17 October - Priya Sandoval: ask volunteer list for Saturday availability, by Monday 20 October - Tom Reyes: share signage proofs, carried over from last week, still open Next meeting: Tuesday, 21 October, 10:00, Room 2B Minutes status: draft, to be approved at next meeting
Make it yours
Your draft
The example is fictional. Edits stay in this page and disappear when you leave. Copy or download your work to keep it.
How to fill it in
- Fill in the header and agenda before the meeting starts so you only have to write discussion, decisions and actions during it.
- Under each agenda item, write one or two lines on what was said, then a separate line starting with "Decision:" so readers can find outcomes quickly.
- When nothing is decided, write "No decision" and what is needed before the group can decide, rather than leaving the item blank.
- Give every action item one named owner and a due date, and carry over any open items from the last meeting's minutes.
- Send the draft within a day, mark it as a draft, and update the status line once the group approves it.
Start from your actual work
On a Mac, Dayflow can help you remember the work behind the update. It drafts a timeline from screen activity. Export a date range as Markdown from Settings → Export. Review that record alongside your calendar and task tracker, then fill in the template above.
For a guided walkthrough, see exporting your work history or drafting a report with Claude Code. Check the assistant's draft before sending it.
Local AI keeps screenshot analysis on-device. Your own cloud provider or Dayflow Pro processes selected screenshots off-device. An assistant can receive the Dayflow data it retrieves in your conversation. Local storage does not make a cloud assistant conversation local. Read the data-flow guide before choosing a workflow.
Questions about this template
What should be included in meeting minutes?
Include the meeting name, date, time, location, who attended and who was absent, the agenda, a short summary of each item, the decisions made, and action items with an owner and due date. End with the next meeting date and whether the minutes are a draft or approved. Leave out side conversations and word-for-word quotes unless they matter.
Are meeting minutes a transcript of the meeting?
No. Minutes are a summary of what was decided and what happens next, not a record of everything said. Keep discussion to a line or two per item. If your group needs a full transcript for legal or compliance reasons, keep a recording or transcript separately and treat the minutes as the readable summary.
Who approves meeting minutes?
Usually the attendees or the chair approve them, often at the start of the next meeting. Until then, label the minutes as a draft so nobody treats them as final. Formal bodies such as boards or committees may have their own approval rules, so check your organization's bylaws or policies if the minutes carry legal weight.
How soon should meeting minutes be sent out?
Send them within a day while the meeting is still fresh, especially when action items have short deadlines. Sending a clear draft quickly is more useful than sending polished minutes a week later. Ask attendees to flag corrections by a set date so the minutes can be approved at the next meeting.
What is the difference between meeting minutes and meeting notes?
Meeting notes are often informal and written for yourself, while minutes are a shared record written for the whole group, including people who missed the meeting. Minutes follow a consistent structure, name owners for each action, and are usually reviewed and approved. Your personal notes can be a source for the minutes.
Use the right format for the next step
- Weekly status report for a concise progress update.
- Daily work log for a record you can come back to.
- Daily standup template for yesterday, today, and blockers.
Download Dayflow